Bennet Urges HHS to Improve Pregnant Women's Access to Health Care

Press Release

Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, Senator Patty Murray, and several of their colleagues urged Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell to further improve women's access to health care under the Affordable Care Act by instituting a special open enrollment period for women to enroll in health coverage when they find out they are pregnant.

Thirty-six senators sent a letter to Secretary Burwell requesting she address a gap in coverage that could leave a woman uninsured and without access to maternity care if she becomes pregnant at a time outside of the Open Enrollment period. Maternal mortality rates are three to four times higher for women who receive no prenatal care compared to women that do, which makes health coverage critical during this time.

In the letter the Senators wrote:

"We write to support your efforts to ensure that women have full access to the comprehensive, affordable health insurance coverage guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act. ....if a woman becomes pregnant at a time outside of the Open Enrollment period and is uninsured, or enrolled in a grandfathered plan that does not cover maternity services, then she will not be able to access coverage for maternity care. Without access to maternity care coverage, these women are forced to either forgo this critical care or face significant out of pocket costs....We encourage you to....create a special enrollment period to maximize women's access to coverage."

Source